The Potion Masters Healer
by lejardine
Summary: Angelina Johnson gets offered to work alongside Poppy at Hogwarts and she jumps at the chance. Besides helping to ensure the health of the student body she is tasked with ensuring the health of one near death potions master. Will he accept her help?
1. Chapter 1

Angelina Johnson finished packing her things in her small flat. It wasn't much that she had, just clothes and books. She placed everything in the boxes she had and shrunk those boxes and placed them in her trunk. That was that then. Didn't take her too long. She was ready for her new job.

She never thought she would return to Hogwarts but she needed a change. St. Mungos was not what she had thought it would be. The ways of healing were stagnant and both her and Hermione had had enough. Hermione had left and moved to France where change was more receptive. Angelina on the other hand had gotten a letter from Headmistress Minerva McGonagall. Realizing there would be an influx of new students this year two healers were to be required. She would be working along side Poppy.

Confident she had packed everything, Angelina took hold of her trunk and backpack and apparated out of the tiny apartment to just a couple of feet from the gates of Hogwarts. The castle looked the same and yet different from her days in attendance. She placed her hand on the gate and they swung open for her. She walked through and on either side of her was nothing but grass and wildflowers. The blue sky and sun above and the castle in front. The closer she got the more she understood the difference. The castle had battle scars still. Repairs done after the war still stood out. She remembered the last time she was there the castle was nearly destroyed and was burning; smoke filled the air as heavy rain fell. Bodies and the smell of blood surrounded her and she was out for more. Angelina made it to the entrance and was met by Minerva.

"Welcome back Ms. Johnson."

"Good to be back." Responded Angelina as she approached her former head of house for a hug. She now stood a whole head above Minerva. The headmistress guided her in and the doors closed behind her. They climbed the steps to the infirmary where she met Poppy who was waiting. She was in for another hug before she was escorted to her rooms.

"Its not much and these rooms haven't been used for a while. You're free to do any cosmetic changes as you see fit. I'll leave you to look through the place. I'll be waiting in the infirmary and show you where everything is." Said Poppy as she took in her new colleague. It had been years since she saw the young woman. The last time being just after the last battle. Angelina had been found surrounded by bodies soaked in blood (some of it not her own). Her clothes were torn and there were gashes in various parts of her body. Her hair was wild and there was a crazed look in her eye. Poppy had knocked her out and carried her to the infirmary to clean and fix her up. She had been unconscious for a week. But now as she stood watching the young woman she was subdued and calm.

Angelina placed the trunk on the floor and her bag on her bed. Her rooms consisted of a small sitting area, kitchenette, smaller bedroom, and a small bathroom that consisted of a tub, shower, sink and toilet. She couldn't see herself taking a bath though the tub was far to small for her. Walking back to the sitting area she opened her trunk and with a flick of her wand everything unpacked and went to its appropriate place.

Angelina found Poppy at her desk going over a list. For a moment the older woman didn't notice her and jumped when she did. She stood and walked around her desk with the lis tin hand.

"Nothing much has changed since you've last been here. But I changes up some of the store room and you should at least see that." She followed Poppy to the other end of the long room and was let into a warded room that had every possible potion and other first aid necessities one would need at a school. The highest shelf was at eye level for Angelina. One wall was for potions, one wall had a table against the wall with nothing on it and the other wall had different types of bandages, splints, and other things. It wasn't much to show but at least the room was temperature controlled and well lit.

"This is better organized than what we had at St. Mungo's." she commented. Poppy raised an eyebrow at that.

"That's a shame." Commented Poppy.

"It really is. No matter how hard Granger and I tried we couldn't get them to organize and improve. We tried once without permission and still got in trouble even though it did make life easier for the other healers."

"Is that why you decided to come here?"

"Yes. At least here efficiency and care for the patient rather than your ego take precedence." Poppy nodded her head. She'd heard of the problems St. Mungo's was having and she couldn't blame Angelina for jumping at the chance to leave.

"I heard there might be another wizarding hospital opening only it will be in a more remote area with better facilities."

"I heard the same rumors but I haven't seen any concrete proof." The two women left the supply closet. Poppy took Angelina around so that the wards recognized her and accepted her.

"Now that that is done and taken care of I need you to go down to the dungeons and give this to Severus. He is the other staff you will be working with." Angelina let out a breath and nodded. "You remember how to get down there correct?"

"Yeah." She sighed. Angelina took the note and left the infirmary and made for the long walk down to the dungeons. The further down she went the colder and damper it got. How this man was comfortable down here she didn't understand. Why he came back though she did. After the war, even though he'd been exonerated and his true loyalties had been exposed he was still persona non grata. His former home had been torched. And as a member of the Hogwarts staff it wasn't as if he made enough money to buy another. Although, he did create potions that were patented so he probably got some money from that. As a healer Angelina at least kept up reading all possible potions journals.

She made it to his office door and knocked. There was no sound for a moment until the door was swung open. There stood Severus Snape in all his glory. But his intimidation technique was lost on her. She remembered a time where he towered above her but at the moment they was only a three or four inch difference.

"What do you want?" he growled. Angelina quirked an eyebrow and handed him the list. He didn't take it but stood there staring at her. He couldn't place her. Nothing about this woman was familiar and he didn't remember being told anyone was coming.

"Poppy sent me down here to give you the list of potions she needs, though I could brew these myself."

"Who are you and how did you get in the castle?" Severus whipped out his wand and had it at her throat. Still, she wasn't intimidated.

"Angelina Johnson professor. You taught me a while ago. I'm Poppies new assistant, I came today." She answered in a bored tone. "You going to take the list or not?" Severus put down his wand, snatched the list and slammed the door in her face. Angelina rolled her eyes but in the time that they stood there she did a visual analysis of him.

His skin was yellowing and pale, his breathing was slightly labored, he had a bit of a stoop, and his hair was much too long for him and greasy. He looked worse now than he did before the war and that was saying something. Shaking her head she made her way back up to the infirmary and found Poppy sitting at her desk.

"How'd it go?" asked Poppy.

"The man still thinks he's intimidating. He didn't know who I was. I explained then he took the list and slammed the door in my face." Angelina shrugged her shoulders. "But he looks near death. I've never seen him so bad." Poppy nodded her head.

"That was the other reason why you were asked to come here. Besides needing an assistant I need someone to keep tabs on him. Minerva and I have been trying to get him to take care of himself, but as you've seen he won't. I don't think he expected to actually live after the war or at least if he did I think he thought he'd be thrown in Azkaban."

"So now he's aimless." Angelina understood. "So this means I should be looking at his health record doesn't it?"

"That it does." Poppy stood and opened two drawers and pulled out files from both. "This is his records as a student." It was a thick book that she suspected was filled from cover to cover. "This is the unofficial record I have kept on him." This book was about the same thickness as the other if not slightly thicker. Angelina took up both books. "I suggest you look them over fully then return them to me when you're finished. I'm warning you now there are things in there that will make your skin crawl and make your blood boil." Angelina nodded once and went to her quarters and placed the books on the coffee table.

"I'm going to need a large pot of tea for this." She said to herself. Once the tea was ready she returned with the tray and set it on the table and sat on the couch and removed her shoes.


	2. Chapter 2

It took a week of off and on reading to get through Severus' records thoroughly. The amount of physical and emotional abuse this man had suffered in and out of school as too much for her. She understood what Poppy had meant now. In the end she felt it was lucky Albus was already dead, she would have been more than happy to put him in the grave. He had way to many injuries to his body and even now a lot of them, internal, weren't properly healed. Though, that wasn't his fault completely. It seemed that no one knew exactly how to fix what was wrong with him. That would change though.

While at St. Mungo's Angelina and Hermione had been working on different potions to treat the after affects of some dark curses including the cruciatus curse. They had made a lot of headway and even found a permanent one shot fix for the nerve and circulatory damage one suffered from the cruciatus curse. Though, much to their expectations, St. Mungo's didn't believe them and ignored their work. Well now here was a chance to prove to the world that what the two former students were working on was worthwhile. Angelina had written a note to Hermione and sent it by owl.

_Hello Hermione,_

_I hope work in France is going well for you. I have finally left St. Mungo's and am working with Poppy at Hogwarts. I will be helping her with the normal, making sure the students are healthy and the like. But I have been tasked with taking care of a certain potions master. It seems that he hasn't been taking care of himself. Seems to be he wants a slow death. I plan on stopping this and was asking if would be okay if I used him as a test subject. He has every known ailment one could obtain from torture. Owl me and let me know._

_-Angelina Johnson_

_P.S. Do you know anything about a new hospital being set up in the countryside?_

After sending the owl off Angelina went down to dinner and found that Severus wasn't there again.

"Does Snape not come and eat at all here?" she asked Poppy.

"During the summer no he usually doesn't He usually eats in his quarters if he eats at all." she answered sadly. The man was getting thinner and thinner as the weeks went on. During the summers since the end of the war he would loose much too much weight but because during the school year he was forced to attend meals he had to eat. Poppy wasn't sure if it was that he had no appetite or if he was so withdrawn into himself during the summers that he simply forgot or couldn't be bothered to eat. Angelina took note and continued eating.

The next day at lunch an owl came for Angelina with a note in its talons. She removed the note and gave the owl a treat from her plate and let it rest.

_Angelina,_

_You can do as you please if it means saving that git of a man. All that work we did to make sure he was free and this is what he does? Make him eat and heal him or so help me God I will come back and make his life a living hell._

_I have been hearing rumors as well about this new hospital but only rumors. I'm doing well here in Paris actually. I've found someone and my work is going wonderfully._

_I hope you keep me updated on things._

_Hermione_

The note made her laugh enough to show to Poppy who also couldn't help but chuckle at Hermione's threat.

"What is that she is talking about concerning Severus?" asked Poppy.

"I'll tell you when we get to the infirmary." She wasn't sure she wanted the other staff to know. They finished their meal and made their way to the infirmary and sat at Poppy's desk.

"Well, what's going on?"

"Hermione and I have been working on different potions for healing various ailments that for some reason haven't been created as of yet. One of them is for the effects of the cruciatus curse."

"And you think that these can help Severus?"

"I know they can help Severus. I just need to brew the potions and figure out a way to get Severus to take them."

"That's going to be the hard part. I figured."

Over the next few days Angelina came up with different plans of getting Severus to take the potions but all the ideas she came up with wouldn't work. And then one idea did come. What if she went down to Severus and asked him for his help brewing some of the potions? That might work. She didn't know what state he was in though. She hadn't really seen him around since she arrived.

Angelina went through her books for the potions she needed and wrote them all down in a blank notebook to go down with. Quickly she showered and washed her hair. No use going down just rolled out of bed. She dried off, put her hair in a bun, put lotion and deodorant on, and got dressed in her dark blue skinny jeans, ankle high boots, and a button up with the sleeves rolled up. She grabbed the notebook and made her way down to the dungeons.

She knocked on the door twice and waited for an answer. This time she heard a tired "Enter" from the other side and did so. Severus was sitting at his desk writing. He looked up and stared at Angelina.

"What do you want this time?"

"I need to brew a few potions for a friend and I don't have the necessary facilities."

"Tell me what they are and I'll brew them for you."

"Oh, no you can't. See I created these potions so I need to do them." Severus eyed her carefully then saw the notebook in her hand. He stood and came around his desk limping towards her. She could tell this was an effort for him and somewhat painful to endure just the movement.

"Let me see." He ordered as he held his hand out. Angelina handed him the notebook and watched as he leafed through the book.

His scowl became deeper as he went on. Going through each potions recipe he couldn't quite tell what they were for. It looked like gibberish to him and he was the potions master. She had to be pulling his leg. Severus snapped the book shut and stared at her.

"What are these? They make no sense."

"Would you like to see what they do? I think you'll benefit from them. We can brew all eight today. The longest would take four hours." Severus stood there a moment. Should he let her brew these potions or send her out the door?

"We can use my lab." He answered and turned his back and walked through another door. Angelina followed him and entered his personal lab and stopped. She looked around at its neatness and it lack of disgust. He personal lab was not too big as it was his but it was brighter and much more comfortable than the ones that the students used. She couldn't help but smirk. The theatricality of it all was on purpose. They set to work on the ingredients for each potion first. The necessary ingredients were placed around each cauldron once everything was set. They each took four and started.

Just before lunch they finished the last potion and had everything bottled up and cleaned up. Severus inspected their work but he was still confused as to what each potion did. There was no explanation as to their purpose. Finally giving up Severus turned to Angelina and asked. She took one vial from each batch and set them on a separate table.

"These first four potions are for your vitals. The thick red one if for your heart and circulatory system, the pale blue potion if for your nervous system, the yellow greenish one is for the kidneys, and the deep purple one is for you liver. Each one has only to be taken once and after a meal. You'll be drowsy which is purposeful as these potions work better when you are sleeping." She explained pointedly looking at him. "The last four are much simpler. This lavender colored one is for your stomach and digestive system, it kind of acts like muggle pepto bismal. The clear one is to repair muscle damage since dittany can only do but so much. The black one is to heal fractures and breaks of the bones. The bright blue one repairs ligaments and tendons and the last one is a kind of booster for those with vitamin deficiencies. These last four can be taken at anytime and only once. You must drink the entire content of each of the vials of course."

For a moment Severus stood stock-still. These eight potions could fix all his problems. He looked up at Angelina who was taking the other boxes with the vials in them.

"Aren't you going to take these as well?" he asked as she was walking out the lab.

"No, those are for you and I suggest you take them today." Then she was gone. Severus sat on the stool behind him and stared at the eight vials then his stomach growled to be fed. He took that as a sign. He gathered the eight vials and went to his rooms.

"Dipsy!" He called and a small house elf appeared in front of him.

"Bring me something to eat would you."

"His sir." The House elf popped out and returned some five minutes later with a hearty soup and a glass of water. Severus forced himself to eat everything on the tray then set it aside for Dipsy to take later. Severus then removed his robes and jacket and threw them on the armchair and sat on the couch facing the fire. He grabbed the four most important potions and looked at them. If they kill him that's fine he didn't really care one way or another. Quickly he threw back each potion and then lay down on the couch. The drowsiness was instantaneous and he fell into a deep sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Severus woke a few hours later feeling much warmer and much more comfortable. He sat up and felt that nature was calling. Slowly he made his way to his bathroom to groggy to notice the changes in his body. Severus undid his pants and whipped out his cock and emptied his bladder. When done he flushed the toilet then proceeded into the shower. For some reason he was sweaty and it wasn't comfortable.

When he got out of the shower he dried off and brushed his teeth and it was then that he noticed the changes. Looking in the mirror he noticed that his skin was no longer yellow or pale. He for the first time in a very long time felt warm and didn't feel like he was walking on pins and needles. The potions had worked. Quickly he finished up in the bathroom and ran into the sitting room naked and took the last four potions. He sat down and could feel the affects immediately he could feel the muscles, tendons, and ligaments mending themselves and his bones and joints felt stronger and painless. His nose was fully healed.

Severus waited a few minutes before he stood again. He could stand up straight and breath properly and felt normal. _This is what it felt like to be healthy_, he thought to himself. To test out his newfound health Severus jumped up and down a few times. No pain. He tried other tests just to be sure until he came with an idea to check blood flow. He lay down on his bed and let the fantasy come over him of a tall buxom woman riding him. He could feel himself get harder than he'd ever gotten. With a smile on his face he jerked himself to completion all over his stomach and chest. He lay there with a smile on his face. His body was normal.

With a wave of his hand he was cleaned. Severus got dressed and made his way up to the infirmary. He looked around and found Both Poppy and Angelina staring at him from Poppy's desk. Poppy was surprised and Angelina was smiling.

"How do you feel?" Asked Angelina as she stood and made her way over to Severus. He couldn't take his eyes off her. Angelina stood before him still smiling. Unable to stop himself and not quite knowing what came over him Severus pulled Angelina to him and soundly kissed her. Angelina didn't react at first but Severus could eventually feel her melt into his kiss. Then he pulled away to breath. "I'll take that as you feeling good." She said giggling. Severus let go of her and took a step back.

"I'm sorry. I don't…"

"Its fine Severus." she said smiling. "Do you have any question or complaints?"

"Just one. Can you fix my teeth?" he asked in a small voice.

"Come and sit." Angelina lightly took his arm and sat him down on a bed. Poppy got up and watched as Angelina sat in front of him. "Open your mouth for me please." Severus did just that and she inspected his mouth. His teeth were yellowed and all over the place and his gumbs were almost the healthy pink. She suspected his mouth was worse before he took the potions. "Okay you can close it now but I'm going to have to put the tip of my wand between your lips. Just relax your jaw and keep you mouth closed." Severus nodded and she slipped her wand between his lips. "This may hurt." Angelina took a breath and silently cast the appropriate spell.

It did indeed hurt and Severus fell back on the bed holding his mouth. Poppy ran and came back with a pain potion and gave it to Severus. He drank the whole vial and lay there waiting for it to take affect. Once the pain was gone Severus sat up and Angelina produced a mirror. Severus bared his teeth. They were perfectly white and straight. Severus did not become an Adonis in the space of a few hours but he knew he looked significantly better than he did before he took the potions.

Severus moved the mirror out of the way and looked at Angelina. "Thank you." Was all he could say.

Poppy stood off to the side reeling. Poppy and Minerva had been trying for years to get Severus healthy again, trying to get him to take care of himself. Years of hard work made simple by one former student who actually created potions that fixed everything in the space of a few hours and Severus actually thanked her. There wasn't one person in this entire school who has known Severus that has ever received a thank you. Not even Albus fucking Dumbledore.

"No need to thank me Severus. I'm a healer its fine." She said with a smile. "Anything else you want done? Maybe your hair?" she asked. But before he could say anything she cast a spell on his hair making it less greasy. Then she cut it to the length she remembered he used to keep it. Severus made to protest until she produced the mirror again.

"Thanks...again" he said.

"Not a problem. Its about to be dinner, we should go down." Severus hadn't noticed he'd essentially been lassoed into going to dinner in the great hall but Poppy did and smiled. This girl might be good for him.

They walked through the open doors the great hall and all the staff looked up and stared dumbstruck. Especially Minerva. Severus looked healthier than she had ever remembered and on his arm was a smiling Angelina Johnson.

"Good evening headmistress." Said Angelina. Behind Severus' back she winked to Minerva who spun her head around to look at Poppy who was also smiling.

"What's going on here?" asked Minerva.

"What ever do you mean woman?" asked Severus impatiently.

"Ms. Johnson here gave Severus a few potions, fixed his teeth, and cut his hair." Answered Poppy matter of factly.

"How in the…what?" Angelina and Severus sat and ate smirking through every bite.

"It looks like it works better to give him help rather than pester him Headmistress." Commented Angelina. Severus coughed but continued eating trying not to laugh. It was true though. Minerva and Poppy had only pestered him into getting him to fix himself up but never gave him anything. And as far as he knew, and he did look, there was nothing to help. He'd have to ask Angelina how she thought this up at a later date. For now he was reveling in a flustered Minerva McGonagall.

"You'd never believe me but when he came up to the infirmary earlier he was so beside himself that he grabbed Ms. Johnson and kissed her soundly." Severus started to choke on his food and Angelina started to hit him on the back. He didn't expect Poppy to say that outside and actually started to blush. Minerva also started to blush but was more incredulous than anything else. It was then that he felt Angelina lean in closer to him.

"It's fine. I actually liked the kiss." She whispered to him. Severus turned to look at Angelina and could tell that she was serious and that she was not mocking him causing Severus to relax a bit. The rest of the dinner went quietly.

"Will you come down to my office after dinner?" asked Severus as he stood.

"I can come now, I'm done." Answered Angelina. Severus waited for her and they walked out side by side and down to his office. Severus was going to talk to her in his office but he thought better of it and let her into his rooms. He removed his jacket and threw it over the back of the chair he sat in as Angelina sat in the chair across from him. They sat for a bit in silence.

"I have a few questions." Said Severus calmly. "What started all of this?"

"What started me creating the potions?"

"No, what started you becoming a healer? Last I heard you were to become a professional quidditch player." Severus watched as the smile disappeared. He waited for her to answer he could see that she was trying to find a way to answer.

"You know that I am a muggle born, correct?"

"Yes."

"Before the final battle I had gotten married to another wizard. He was from Italy and we settled in London to be close to my family. We had a child, a healthy little girl." She said with a half smile. "Well one day my parents came to visit and I realized we needed some things to cook so I ran out to the store to do a little grocery shopping. I wasn't too far away. I heard an explosion from the direction of my house, but it didn't occur to me that it was actually my home until I got there. Death eaters had come and every one was dead." She stopped there for a moment to take a breath. Severus sat across from there wringing his hands. He'd heard of the attack but couldn't do anything to stop it. He heard about it after the fact.

"I'm sorry." He said. Angelina looked up and shook her head.

"There is no need for that. It wasn't your fault and you did not participate in it."

"But how did that lead you to becoming a healer?"

"After the funerals Hermione Granger took me in and persuaded me to become a healer. So I became one. We worked well together but after a few years we found St. Mungo's to be stifling so she went to Paris and I was offered the job here. But as for the potions that was a part of our work. The potions were mainly created for those who had undergone torture mainly under the cruciatus curse." She finished looking at him. " I saw the signs of its affects on you when I came to see you that first time and decided to get you to take the potions." Severus sat back in the chair and looked at Angelina thoughtfully.

"You used reverse psychology on me to get me to take the potions?"

"Yes."

"You were amongst the smart ones in your house. How is Ms. Granger doing anyway?"

"In Paris working and dating a Frenchman."

"No Weasley?"

"No, he has problem with keeping his pants on." Severus understood and shook his head.

"Idiot."

"I agree, I had to clean up the mess he left behind." She said with a hint of anger in her voice. "Any more questions professor?"

"No, but as we are colleagues its okay to call me by my given name."

"Okay Severus."

"Thank you Angelina."


	4. Chapter 4

It seems it only took a few healing potions to bring Severus to a sweeter disposition. A sweeter disposition meaning he was back to his snarky regular self rather than the dungeon bat on deaths door. Now that his appetite returned he ate in the great hall wit the other members of staff from time to time, still occasionally choosing to eat by himself in the comfort of his rooms.

Speaking of his rooms, his better health and mood transferred to his rooms. They were cleaner and a little brighter. The chairs, tables, and sofa he had smashed to smithereens in fits of anger were all replaced with new tougher versions.

Occasionally he was found conversing with Angelina about potion creations she and Hermione had created that were now being patented and published. Some of the time, if she wasn't helping out Poppy, Angelina and Severus could be found in his lab brewing potions are having lively conversations on arithmacy and theory. More often than not, and without comment from the other staff members, they noted Severus opening up more to Angelina and Angelina in turn taking on some of his mannerisms.

But to the curiosity of everyone else they never seemed to talk of the kiss he gave or even repeat it. Maybe it was a spur of the moment thing. Or maybe neither seemed to know how to broach the subject. Mainly Angelina not knowing how to talk about it with out incurring Severus possible ire and Severus being to embarrassed to even talk about it. That would soon come to an end of course.

One clear night Angelina had climbed to one of the upper parapets to look at the stars and watch the owl fly around in the night sky. Unbeknownst to her Severus hid in the doorway watching her. Her long hair had been let loose after a wash. Her hair curled wildly and blew in the light breeze. She wore simple slip on shoes, a deep blue near black short-sleeved long dress with a gold belt. The neck of the dress showed off her ample breasts and the necklace she wore that had a small emerald encrusted gold teardrop pendant that fell between her breasts. Her hands were relaxed on her lap and her wand was stuck behind her ear. Her dark skin seemed to be pure ebony in the light of the moon and she was beautiful. Severus stepped heavily on the stones to alert her to his presence. She flinched at the sudden sound and Severus saw the bangles on her wrists move and flicker in the moonlight.

"Good evening Severus." she sighed with a smile. Severus nodded and could here the relaxation in her voice and made his way over to her and sat beside her. They sat in companionable silence. Severus sat close enough that he could feel her slightly shivering. Severus transfigured a piece of paper into a long hairpin and handed it to her. Angelina smile din thanks and put her hair up. Then Severus draped his arm and his robe around her shoulders effectively drawing her closer to him. Severus felt her warmth radiating to him and felt her snuggle in closer to him and lay her head on his shoulder.

"The stars are beautiful tonight." Severus grunted in agreement as his fingers caressed her shoulder. Angelina pulled the fabric around her more. "Severus?"

"Yes?" he responded turning to face her. Without another word Angelina leaned closer and captured Severus' lips. He was taken aback for a moment but preceded to kiss her back as his other hand cupped her cheek. The kiss became a little more heated as Severus pulled Angelina onto his lap and wrapped both arms and his robe around her. Finally they took a breath and Angelina placed her head on his shoulder and wound one hand in his hair.

No words were to be said. Severus was happy Angelina had broached the subject of the kiss with a kiss of her own. They sat and looked at the stars comfortably quiet. If you had told Severus that he'd have a beautiful younger woman curled up on his lap he'd probably give you his worst sneer and hexed you to next century, but yet there they sat.

The next day found Angelina wrapped up in layers of fabric. She didn't understand why she was so wrapped up and on top of that there was something draped across her waist and something breathing in her face. She cracked open an eye and was met with the sleeping form of one Severus Snape who looked remarkably younger with his defenses down. How had she found herself like this? Oh right, they'd made it to her chambers and Severus found he was too tired to make it down to the dungeons and was helping Angelina to her bed where they both collapsed and passed out.

Angelina smirked but refused to move from the comfortable spot she was in but her feet were hot from still having her shoes on and her bladder was complaining. She made to move as quietly as she could so not to wake Severus and slipped off the bed. She slipped off her shoes and socks then padded to the bathroom. She relieved herself, washed her hands and face, brushed her teeth, pulled the pin out her hair then returned to the bed and slipped back into Severus' embrace. He pulled her closer and nuzzled her then kissed her.

"Good morning." She whispered.

Severus kissed her again, "good morning." He responded lazily. He opened his eyes and was met with a smiling Angelina. She reached up and removed a few hairs from his face then placed her hand on his cheek. Severus rolled to his back and took her hand in his and kissed it. That's when he noticed his state of dress. "Apparently we were to tired to even remove a few layers.

"Apparently." She responded. Severus stood off the bed and removed his robes, jacket, boots, socks, unbuttoned the sleeves of his button up and pulled it out of his pants, then returned to the bed and lay beside Angelina. Neither had anything to do for the day and they were both satisfied with just laying in bed together after days of filling potions orders from sun up to near midnight.


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: Sorry for the delay. I've been busy with my final year in university starting and what not._

Even though Angelina and Severus were around each other a lot and he had someone to confide in and work with somewhat it was found that he still had trust issues and social issues. Though that would be expected from someone who lived the life he did. He'd been left to his own devices with most afraid to talk to him or outright treating him like he didn't deserve to have friends.

And so on occasion Angelina found herself blocked out when Severus was in one of his moods. The potions she gave him definitely healed his physical disposition but his mental disposition was still lacking. More often then not she would find his quarters or his labs in shambles and find him repairing the damage. He'd snap at the other professors and storm off to some secluded part of the castle or the grounds.

Severus had a garden he frequented that, since he'd been at Hogwarts, no one seemed to know of. It was surrounded on three sides by the towering walls of the castle and one side faced towards the hills and mountains far beyond the castle It was a calm quiet place that was largely filled with towering cedar trees with a path leading to the far wall that dropped hundreds of feet to a gorge. Many a time Severus left from this very garden to go to death eater meetings either apparating or flying.

On this day he sat on a bench along the path. His legs were splayed open and his head leaned back on the bench and his hands were at his sides. At the moment he felt exhausted and stressed but he couldn't understand why. There was currently nothing to stress him. But then he remembered Angelina. Never had he had a relationship with another woman that he had with Angelina. At least with Lily they were just friends but that quickly fizzled out.

Severus currently found himself sitting in the cedar garden figuring out where to go from there. Should he continue with Angelina and see what happens? Or should he end it all and save her from himself and him from potentially ruining the life of someone so well loved by others. Severus' thinking was interrupted when he heard the heavy oak door open from the castle and found the object of his thoughts step through and walk towards him hesitantly.

Today Angelina wore a simple long deep red dress of the lightest cotton and black sandals. Her hair was brought back into a simple bun and from what he can tell her hair was still wet. She probably had just showered. Then his mind drifted to what she may look like naked. He was broken from these thoughts when she sat beside him and leaned back with her hand gently laying over his.

"Penny for your thoughts?" she asked. She could easily tell there was something wrong.

"Not at the moment." He answered as he turned his hand so her hand was in his palm. Her hands were soft and strong.

"That's fine." She wouldn't push him. She'd seen the other professors push him and seen that those moments never ended well. So they sat in silence for a while and enjoyed the light breeze the flowed through the trees causing them to sway and creak.

"I was wondering." Started Angelina. Severus turned his head to look at her. "We've been cooped up in the castle for a while. I was wondering if you'd like to have a kind of picnic dinner with me out in the fields today." Angelina never turned her face to look at him and simply stared into the canopy above. But inside she was hoping he'd say yes. She liked being around him and at the moment she could tell he needed to be away from Hogwarts.

"I'd like that." He answered lowly. Severus looked at the watch on his wrist. It was almost five in the evening. "Were you hoping for now?" he asked as he sat up and looked her in the eyes.

"Yes, I was." She answered with a smile.

"Let's go then." Severus stood slowly and pulled Angelina up into his arms. She smiled at his action and kissed him on the lips before moving away and beckoning Severus to follow. When they walked back inside the castle there was a picnic basket waiting for them. Severus smirked; she'd gotten it ready before she even asked. He grabbed the basket and they walked side-by-side out the castle and apparated to a far off field. Severus pulled out the blanket and together they set out their dinner of pot roast beef, potatoes, and braised asparagus and a loaf of light white bread. There was a nice red wine to go with the dinner and they sat and ate comfortably.

From time to time Severus would glance towards her and watch her. She moved with grace and economy. He wondered if she were a good dancer. He wondered how great of a duelist she was. But then he wondered if she would truly want him. Would she want to deal with his snark and moodiness? Could she deal with the repercussions with getting into a relationship with him? Could she deal with the possible character assassination that would inevitably happen? And it was that that brought on a question that he never thought he'd ever ask anyone.

"Angelina, what exactly do you want from me?" he asked as he turned to her and set down his wine glass. For a moment Angelina didn't respond. But that was fine; Severus could tell she was in thought as to how to answer. When she was ready to answer she turned to him.

"I want your friendship and intelligence. I want your understanding and tolerance of me and I, hopefully in the future, want your love. I ask for no more than that. I cannot claim to know who you are as a whole and I hope to understand you more but I feel that we can grow to know each other." while listening to her answer Severus was honestly waiting for her to say the wrong thing so he could jump at her but her answer was honest, truthful, and intelligent. "If I may ask, what do you want from me?" Severus looked at his wine glass for a moment to formulate his answer.

"I have issues with trust so I hope for honesty. I have mood swings for no reason at time and for reasons I cant control so I hope for patience from you. I can be downright mean when you don't deserve it and I want you to know that in the heat of the moment it may sound like I mean every word is ay but I don't so I hope for tolerance. I've never told anyone that I loved them so I want you to understand that if I never say it that I will show it." Angelina smiled at his answer.

"That's fair enough." Angelina reached up and placed her hand on his cheek caressing his cheek with her thumb before she leaned in and gave him a loving kiss.


End file.
